Reflections on Norway´s National day and doing business in Norway

Today, May 17th, marks Norway´s National day! Throughout our long-stretched country, from morning till night, we will all unite to celebrate 202 years of our constitution.

This morning, I will put on my national costume from Sunnmøre, the area of western Norway where I´m from, and I will watch my two children walk in the children’s parade, joined by hundreds of ”russ” celebrating the end of their primary education. Afterwards, we will eat ice creams and sausages and grown-ups and children will join together in fun and games.

May 17th has been recognised as a day for the children in Norway since the early 1800’s, which is a unique and distinctive feature of our country and something we are really proud of. And when it comes to business, there may also be some distinctive features that make us stand out.

The Eidsvoll men, who established our constitution in 1814, created something that was modern and future focused. The constitution symbolized continuity and renewal and celebrated the past while also looking to the future. And it is the continuation of the Eidsvoll‘s thinking that has built this country in to what we are today. It is the hard and demanding physical work throughout our generations, such as farming and fishing, that have played a major role in the development of Norway as a country and society.

This attitude may be something that other nations and companies associate with us Norwegians – that we are hard working, ambitious, competitive, direct, involved, open, futuristic and modern. And this might also be one of the reasons an industrial and international giant like arvato Bertelsmann decided to acquire our company (Gothia) 3 years ago.

So, how do we do business at arvato Norway?

Quality and ethics is of the utmost importance to us. We have complex financial and debt-collection products and services, with strict formal requirements and regulations that we must always consider. For our clients, we must be a transparent supplier and I am happy that we have strong regulations in our business. At the same time, we love a bit of competition and we have a strong desire to be the best, both locally, but also internally with our arvato-colleagues in the Nordics and beyond

Here at arvato Norway we have a thorough knowledge of the industry. We develop our own systems and services, and we have gained Norwegian, Nordic and international experience and competence that ultimately benefits our clients. We emphasise that we have local knowledge with global possibilities.

Our proud employees drive us towards the future in an innovating and challenging market. We are as proud of this as we are of our National day.